New Voice Series, featuring Raul Ruiz, Zêdan Xelef, Alexiz Angel Romero, and Bianca White: May 5, 2022

Brent Jensen introduces Bianca White, who reads two poems. Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta introduces Alexiz Angel Romero, who likewise reads two poems. Jensen then introduces Zêdan Xelef, who begins by reading a poem in his native Kurmanji language, followed by his own translation to American English; he then reads the first poem he wrote after arriving in San Francisco for graduate study. Luboviski-Acosta introduces Raul Ruiz, who reads poems involving the Institute of Chingazos, a noise band "but only because they couldn't play their instruments... five little macosos nobody liked," and from the manuscript of his chapbook Mustard, forthcoming in 2022 from Drop Leaf Press. 

The four poets — Bianca White, Alexis Angel Romero, Zêdan Xelef, and Raul Ruiz — are asked from the audience "what keeps you writing?" and Romero, White, and Ruiz respond in turn. Asked "do you think you grow emotionally or spiritually with your poems?" White provides a response. Xelef is asked about "a moment where you learned how to write a poem or what a poem was." He indicates that first reading a prose poem opened up possibilities, and that writing is a way to perceive one's environment and existence, and also a place of refuge. Asked about his multilingualism, he notes other languages provide "some kind of training for my ear" and his being fascinated—in every language "there is some excess" that isn't available outside it. "I don't get to choose in which language I get to write my next poem. It just happens." Asked about the difference between the I of the poem ("is it you or some fantasm?") and the poet, Romero notes using the lower-case "i" to not put so much importance on one's self, "It could be anybody."